I've been thinking about the whole Bushista approach to communicating with the public. Assume all the standard left/progressive complaints about distortions and evasions, but beyond that the absolute refusal to acknowledge error kept striking me as awfully familiar.
This morning I realized what it reminds me of: Usenet.
Bush & Co. argue their position like they're in a Usenet political newsgroup.
So, in an effort to assist my cohort I decided to do some research on how to deal with that type of argument. It turns out there are many styles of Usenet argumentation and it's critical to identify which particular type of asshole you're dealing with.
With the assistance of Mike Reed's Flame Warrior database I have determined the archetypes of several major players in the Bush administration.
| George Bush | Big Dog |
| Dick Cheney | Capitalista |
| Condoleeze Rice | Me Too |
| Dick Ashcroft | Troglodyte |
| Don Rumsfeld | Tireless Rebutter |
| Colin Powell | Diplomat |
| Tom Ridge | Klaxon |
| The administration as a whole | Cyber Sisters |
Feel free to add to the list.
Article comments
1 - Hal Pawluk
Nice job - I'd forgotten about the "Flame Warriors" and have bookmarked the page.
2 - P6
Thanks Hal.
3 - Shark
Prom 6, great stuff; thanks for the link. Some funny, too-true stuff. On the Pithy Phrase type, he writes:
"Digital forums are a gift to the slow witted."
Hilarious. I liked the 'old days' before Google and time delays made everyone a genius.
4 - Shark
BTW: I think George is more of a YUK YUK.
(I just read "American Dynasty" and author Kevin Phillips makes a good case for the existence of four generations of a genetic flaw in the Bush boys that makes them all want to do really stupid, adolescent 'jokes' in a frat-house sort of style.)